Chargers' Jim Harbaugh Compares Coaching NFL Games to Getting Root Canal at Dentist

NFL teams are currently in the training camp and preseason portion of their preparations for the 2025 NFL season, but Jim Harbaugh is already in midseason form when it comes to his penchant for interesting quotes.

"I know some people are like, 'God you look so angry.' Well, I'm in the middle of a football game. And, I mean, it's like sitting in a dentist's chair having someone do a root canal on you; that's the feeling you have during a game," the Los Angeles Chargers' head coach told Albert Breer of SI.com. "Parents can understand it, people who have kids that go to their game. A baseball game, OK, now your kid, he's at bat with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, or he's pitching to the top of the order in a tie game. ... Whatever that situation is, you want them to do well."

Over the years, Harbaugh has turned heads and raised eyebrows with some of his colorful quotes.

There's his love for Judge Judy, for one.

"I'm a big fan of the Judge Judy show," he told reporters at the 2013 NFL Scouting Combine. "And when you lie in Judge Judy's courtroom, it's over, your credibility is completely lost, you stand no chance of winning that case. So, I learned that from her. It's very powerful."

Before his first season as the Michigan head coach, Harbaugh told reporters his team was going to eliminate outside distractions and avoid speaking to the media in a... unique way.

"We're going into a submarine, and you won't see us for a while," he said. "You won't hear from us, you won't see us, we'll be working. We'll be in a bunker until we decide we're not."

In 2016, Harbaugh cited the motivational principles of... SpongeBob Squarepants.

"I love his attitude," he said. "He attacks each day with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind! I've kind of modeled my behavior after him. We all should. What a great employee he is. He's a go-getter. He's always got a bounce to his step. He's got pizazz. He puts his heart and soul into making those Krabby Patties. I think he's awesome."

Jim Harbaugh doesn't get sick. Instead, he is the "iron wall that viruses bash against," as he told reporters in 2023 while clearly battling an illness, and said he would do "push-ups and eat an apple" to treat the ailment.

And that was just a smattering. You could fill several encyclopedias with all of the Harbaughisms over the years. But trying to track them all down would probably be about as painful as... a root canal.